Pages

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

I have always loved the Dresden Plate. It is classic and timeless. It's been on my radar since the beginning of my Quilting Life (QL)--That's a term, right?

At Quilt Fest, I took an amazing class on the Dresden Plate pattern. I loved this class for so many reasons. First, the teacher was kind, patient, encouraging, and so helpful. Second, our teacher took us through the entire process of making a Dresden Plate quilt. We learned how to assemble the "plate," how to appliqué it on a block, how to quilt it, how to do trapunto in the negative space, how to piece the border, how to finish it with a piping border. I now have all the pieces I need to create my own Dresden Plate Quilt.

I cut 2-1/2" strips from my 30's reproduction fabrics for the fans and purchased some Kona Cotton for the green blades in the design. Overall, I was really happy with how it turned out.

It was fun to see everyone's individual choices. We put up everyone's blocks on the wall to take a picture. My favorite is the red and blue in the bottom right-hand corner. So adorable, fresh and modern.

Have you ever tried Trupunto? I've heard about it, and many people would say "Oh, it's so easy! You just yada yada yada and you're done!" I'd get lost in the "yada yada yada" part of their breezy explanation. In this class, we went through all the steps to create trupunto quilting, and it actually really is so easy. However, I had to do it for myself to really understand it.

For those wondering, Trapunto is a method of quilting where you have a stuffed, puffy, decorative feature producing a raised surface on the quilt.

Here is my practice piece.

Can you tell that the feather is stuffed and raised?

Trapunto

Now I'm in contemplation mode. Do I continue with these color choices? Do I change the color of the blade from green to a 30's black print? Or do I do something more modern?

I do like the idea of having some hand work to take with me or to work on while watching TV with the family. This will be a long-term project for sure.

Linked up with Let's Bee Social here.
Linked up with WIP Wednesday here.
Linked up with Needle and Thread Thursday here.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

I still remember the first time I saw a Cathedral Window Quilt. An antique Cathedral Window Quilt was displayed at the Peteetneet Quilt Show, and I was awed. It looked so intricate, delicate, and beautiful. However, I also thought I would never make one myself.

Soon, I was seeing modern versions of the Cathedral Window and modern ways of piecing it popping up on pinterest and quilt blogs. It quickly found a place on my Quilty Bucket List. But, no matter how many online tutorials and videos I watched, I couldn't quite grasp how it was made.

The mystery surrounding this design was recently dispelled for me. At Quilt Fest, I took a class on making Cathedral Window quilt by machine. I didn't make a whole quilt, but I learned the basics and made a small sample.

All the stitching is done by machine.

Some parts are obviously better than others. But, this was my first attempt.

I do like how quickly this comes together by piecing it by machine. However, I'm not too keen about all the stitching in the center point. I think I will need to make some adjustments to the instructions so that I'm not stitching over that point so many times. It just looks messy to me. I don't like messy.

I love that I now have the know-how on how to make this elusive design. Now to decide on what I want to make with this. Do I make an actual quilt? What size? Or do I make a cute pillow?

Choices Choices!

Linked up with Let's Bee Social here.
Linked up with WIP Wednesday here.
Linked up with Show Off Saturday here.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Earlier this year, I signed up to participate in a UFO challenge with two separate guilds. I completely botched it with one guild because of all the time and energy I spent preping for my upcoming move. I still have a chance with the second guild....but I have to have it done--as in quilted, bound, and labeled--by Wednesday. Holy Moly--that is in 5 days! I don't know if I'll get it all done.

I found, what I thought, was the PERFECT thread for my project from Superior Threads. I mean, isn't it beautiful?

Superior Thread

I love the brightness of this variegated thread. I was beyond excited when I got it.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

It matches so perfectly, it was as if it was designed JUST for my quilt. But then I tried it out on a tester sample. Even though it takes time to create a tester block, I am always ALWAYS so glad that I did.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt Block

I didn't love the thread anymore. Oh, it was perfect for the back of the quilt, but it detracted from the block. It was TOO noticeable on the front, especially in all the negative space. I also decided to stop the spiral before I got to the pink ring.

After much deliberation and thought, I decided to go with a MonoPoly thread on top and this beautiful variegated pink on the bottom.

Wheel of Fortune Quilt

I am so happy with this! The spiral is still there, but now the thread doesn't become the star of the show.

Now I must try to wrestle with my quilt in my little Bernina 200. Quilting a small 9" square block is SO completely different than a 55"x 60" quilt.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

I made these cute slippers while at Quilt Fest. They were so incredibly easy to make, and I finished them in class! So nice when that happens. I didn't have time to do any embellishments, but that's ok. I might add some later, but I still like them like this.

It was so fun to see everyone's fabric choices and how different they all looked. I just pulled fabric out of my stash, including the navy blue minky on the inside, and really love the finish look.

The pattern can be found here and is by The Quilted Fish. The pattern is easy to read, with clear instructions and lots of helps. The slippers can be made in any size from toddler to adult woman and any size in between--she even tells you exactly how to do each whole size.

When I showed these to my family, MK looked at them in awe and asked if she could have a pair too. In pink.

Liked up with Show Off Saturday here.
Linked up with Anything Goes Monday here.

Sorry to report, I did miss one class--the Invisible Appliqué. I got sick and couldn't attend the class. I think all the stress I've been dealing with finally caught up with me the first moment I've slowed down in months.

I started a post where I reported on EVERYTHING I did...but it got so long. I've decided I'll do a separate post on each class.